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UNRWA Launches 2010 Emergency Appeal at League of Arab States

14 December 2009

14 Dec 2009

Cairo

UNRWA today launched its Emergency Appeal for 2010 at a meeting of the League of Arab States. The appeal is a response to the continued and protracted crisis in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) and targets the most vulnerable refugees in the oPt, in particular the population of Gaza and those communities in the West Bank most affected by closures and access restrictions.

UNRWA is appealing for over US$323 million, which will be used to fund a range of programmes including job creation, education, emergency health and mental health and community mental health as well as a protection programme. Launching the appeal, UNRWA‘s Commissioner-General Karen AbuZayd emphasised that funds from the appeal will allow UNRWA to make direct interventions in response to the most acute needs, saying, "With this appeal, UNRWA will undertake a combination of direct humanitarian relief and protection activities, to help ensure security for the most vulnerable communities and individuals in the territory."

Background information

The past 12 months have seen an intensification of the crisis in the oPt, with lives and livelihoods ravaged by a combination of Israeli-imposed restrictions on access and movement and persistent conflict. The year began with Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, which resulted in death and destruction on a massive scale. The humanitarian crisis in the Strip was compounded by the ongoing siege on Gaza’s borders. This blockade has had devastating consequences on all aspects of life for the 1.4 million people trapped in Gaza. While the residents of Gaza continue to suffer severe shortages of basic goods and building materials, they remain unable to rebuild their lives, communities and economy.

The past 12 months also witnessed further fragmentation of West Bank territory and segregation of the Palestinian population that has gone hand in hand with the illegal consolidation and expansion of Israeli settlements. For many Palestinians in the West Bank, access to economic resources and basic services continues to be severely restricted, and opportunities for sustainable growth and development limited.

Palestine refugees, who account for around 40 percent of the total population of the oPt and more than two-thirds in Gaza, continue to suffer the worst impacts of the crisis. They typically endure higher levels of poverty, unemployment and food insecurity than non-refugees.

Background Information

UNRWA is confronted with an increased demand for services resulting from a growth in the number of registered Palestine refugees, the extent of their vulnerability and their deepening poverty. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions and financial support has been outpaced by the growth in needs. As a result, the UNRWA Programme Budget, which supports the delivery of core essential services, operates with a large shortfall. UNRWA encourages all Member States to work collectively to exert all possible efforts to fully fund the Agency’s Programme Budget. UNRWA emergency programmes and key projects, also operating with large shortfalls, are funded through separate funding portals.

UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and mandated to provide assistance and protection to some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip achieve their full human development potential, pending a just and lasting solution to their plight. UNRWA services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, protection and microfinance.